My City September 2022

Opportunity & Perseverance A Conversation with John Henry

BY PETER HINTERMAN ® PHOTOS PROVIDED BY JOHN HENRY

A fter 25 years of dedicated service to the com munity as director of the Flint Institute of Arts (FIA), John Henry is ready for his life’s next challenge: retirement. “I’m 73,” he says. “I still have plenty I want to do and see and I feel that in ten years, those things may be a little harder for me to do. Secondly, the art world is changing in so many ways. I felt that it was time to step aside and bring in new ideas.” Since 1996, Henry has been the guiding force behind the resurgence and glowing reputation of one of the best art museums and schools in the United States. His adoption of and belief in Flint and his love for FIA are evi dent in his smile and passionate words as he speaks of his tenure here and his successful career in the arts. A self-described military brat, Henry moved about the country with his family as a child but always nurtured an in terest in art. “It goes back as far as I can remember,” he shares. “I always intended to become an artist.” His pursuit began at the University of South Carolina where he earned a degree in studio arts (sculpture), then went on to Auburn University for post-graduate work and nally settled at the University of Mississippi, where he earned his master’s degree in art history. With a recommendation from a friend, Henry became a curator at the Columbus (Georgia) Museum of Art. “ at’s how I got started in the museum eld,” he says. After six years, he head ed back to Mississippi to join the planning sta for the new Mississippi Museum of Art and was then hired to plan and build the Vero Beach Museum of Art in Florida, where he soon became director. “It was there that I met Marylin Truesdell, a

trustee on the board of the Flint Institute of Arts. She invited me to Flint to tour the museum and school and consider the director’s position. When my wife Janice and I arrived, we were pleasantly surprised by Flint and I was intrigued by the FIA, its large school, outstanding collection, and its location within the Flint Cultural Center.”What also stood out to Henry about the museum was its stellar national reputation and support from the local community. “From what I could see, it was poised to regain its identity as an essential destination.” Henry took the job. 

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